Musical toy



Jan. 12, 1965 G. v. BOYNTON 3,165,023

MUSICAL TOY Filed Dec. 10, 1962 HTIIIITTHUIHIIIHHTI INVENTOR George V.Boynton ind/x,

United States Patent 3,165,623 MUEdiCAL TOY George V. lloynton, 49% SanSimeon Way, San Jose, Calif. Filed Dec. 10, 1962, Ser. No. 243,270 6Claims. (Cl. 844il6) This invention relates to musical toys of thepercussion type that produce repetitive sounds by a single movement of auser of the toy.

An object of this invention is to provide a toy that produces a pleasingtone and is simple to operate. This object is obtained by providing atoy with a single upstanding elongated resilient member having a clapperextending into a bell disposed in spaced relation to the resilientmember. The resilient member is supported at only one end thereof sothat movement of the free end of the resilient member causes the clapperto oscillate within the bell so as to ring the bell. Thus little or nomuscular coordination on the part of the user of the device is required,making the device peculiarly suitable for infants.

A feature and advantage of the present invention is that a pleasingvisual sensation occurs simultaneously with the aural sensation causedby the bell. This feature and advantage exists because each time theresilient clapper supporting member is displaced and released itvibrates or oscillates. Such movement entices the child to actuate thebell again and again.

Another feature and advantage of the present invention is that bellssized to produce various frequencies can be provided in a unitarystructure to enable the user to form elemental note progressions ortunes with the device. This feature enables discovery and development ofthe musical abilities of a child at an early age.

Yet another feature and advantage is that the toy may be actuated fromany point on a 360 degree plane around the resilient member so as tosimplify attachment of the bell to a crib and to make easier thesounding of the toy by young infants.

Another object of the invention is to provide a musical toy of the typeherein contemplated that may be constructed simply and inexpensively.The foregoing object is fulfilled by constructing a device withconventional springs or rubber tubes, wire, and ordinary round bells.These parts may be assembled simply and rapidly.

A further object of the invention is to provide a musical toy that hasno unsafe sharp protruding edges thereon. Attainment of this object ismade possible by providing a closed structure in which the bells andassociated clappers are installed. The only parts of the toy protrudingfrom the enclosure are the smooth resilient members that are free of anysharp protrusion.

The foregoing objects, features and advantages as well as others will beapparent after referring to the following specification and attacheddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross section elevational view of a part of a musical toyconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section elevational view of a modi fication of theinvention; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary portion on an enlarged scale of FIG. 1 showing amodification of the toy.

The musical toy of the present invention generally includes an elongatedresilient member A attached at one end thereof to a sound chamber B andhaving afiixed to the opposite longitudinal end a staff C. The staff hasa clapper D on the opposite end thereof adapted to strike a bell E.

Resilient member A is formed of a coil 12 of spring steel wire or thelike and is provided at the upper end 3,165,023 Patented Jan. 12, 1965"ice thereof with a tip 13 of soft flexible material such as rubber orthe like. Tip 13 is provided with a skirt 14 that secures the tip ontospring 12; skirt 14 can be extended down to cover the entire spring soas to eliminate danger of pinching between adjacent turns of the spring.The lower end of spring 12 has one or more enlarged turns 15. Chamber Bhas an upper wall 16 having a plurality of apertures 18 that are adaptedto receive the lower end of spring 12. Enlarged turn 15 of the springaffords secure mounting of the spring onto upper walls 16 of soundchamber B.

Staff C can be formed integral with the spring 12 in which case thestaff is merely formed as a continuation of the wire of coil 12.Alternatively staff C can be constructcd of a member separate fromspring 12 in which case it is suitably aflixed by brazing or solderingto the top of the spring.

The bottom wall of chamber B has mounted thereon a plurality of bells E.Each bell E has a mouth portion and a cannon portion 22. Cannon portion22 is provided with a hole 24 therethrough for expeditious attachment ofa bell to the bottom wall of the chamber. Attachment may be effected inany suitable manner such as by upstanding protuberances 26 sized to beforce fitted into hole Sound chamber B is preferably enclosed, and oneor more openings 23 can be provided in the chamber sidewalls to alterthe tone as desired. Bells E are spaced from one anot er by an amountsufficient to avoid any interference between adjacent bells or betweenadjacent clappers. Although FIG. 1 shows chamber B with two bellsinstalled therein, it is obvious that only one bell may be provided orthat any number of bells may be installed in the chamber.

In operation the top end of spring 12 is displaced transversely as shownat the right hand side of FIG. 1. Sudden release of the free end ofspring 12 will cause the spring to oscillate and such oscillating actionwill be transmitted through staff C to clapper D causing the latter torepetitively strike the interior walls of bell mouth 20.

Because tip 13 of resilient member A can be provided in bright colors,the infant using the device will be fascinated and attracted by theoscillatory motion of the tip that occurs with the sound.

In FIG. 2 a modification of my invention is shown in which resilientmember A is formed by an elongated tube of rubber or the like. One endof the resilient member is formed with a flange 32 providing forexpeditious mounting of the resilient member to the wall 16 of chamberB. The upper end of tube 30 is provided with a pocket 34 for receipt ofa boss 36 formed on the top end of staff C. Tube 30 has a longitudinalopening 38 therein through which staff C passes. As in the embodimentdescribed above staff C is provided with a clapper D that extends intomouth 29 of bell E. The operation of this embodiment of my invention isidentical with that described above in that transverse displacement andsudden release of tube 39 causes the tube to oscillate. The oscillatorymotion is imparted to the clapper D through the staff C and the bell isthus made to ring. Tube 30 can be brightly colored so as to enhance theappearance of the toy and make it more attractive to a child.

A plurality of different sized bells may be placed in one sound chamberto form an instrument on which simple tunes can be played. In suchinstrument it is desirable to form each resilient member of a dilferentcolor to permit ready identification of different tones.

A modification of my invention as depicted in FIG. 3 takes the form of around fiat washer 40 made of rubber, nylon or similar soft resilientmaterial, mounted on staff C at the point where the stafi passes throughaperture 18 in wall 16 of chamber B. Washer 49 can be glued on to staffC or can be force fitted on the staff. Incorporation of a washer of theproper size limits and clamps the oscillatory movement of stafi C sothat clapper D will strike bell E only once each time the resilientmember is transversely displaced and released. Such modification isdesirable when a plurality of bells of different pitches are mounted inone chamber for the purpose of forming a musical instrument and singletones are desired. Addition of the washer 40 also enables mounting ofthe toy with staff C in a generally horizontal position withoutrequiring extra stiffness in spring 12 to maintain the staff in ahorizontal position when not actuated.

While several embodiments of my invention have been shown and described,it will be obvious that other adaptations and modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A musical toy comprising a bell defining a mouth, an elongatedresilient member formed with an opening longitudinal thereof, means formounting one end of said resilient member in spaced relation to the ellmouth, said mounting means constituting the sole support for saidresilient member, a staff affixed to the opposite end of the resilientmember and extending through the longitudinal opening in said resilientmember into the bell mouth, said stafi? being sized with respect to thesize of the longitudinal opening in said resilient member to affordrelative transverse movement therein, and a clapper attached to' thestaff within the bell mouth, whereby transverse displacement and releaseof the resilient member imparts oscillatory motion to the clappercausing it to strike the bell interior.

2. A musical toy comprising a bell defining a mouth, an elongatedspring, means for supporting one end of said spring in spaced relationto the mouth, a staff affixed to the non-supported end of the springextending into the bell mouth, and a clapper attached to the staifwithin the mouth, said staff extending through the center of the helicalspring and having an outer diameter much smaller than the inner diameterof the helical spring to afford relative transverse movementtherebetween, whereby displacement and release of the non-supported endof the spring imparts oscillatory motion to the clapper thereby causingit to strike edges of the bell mouth.

3. A musical toy comprising a base, a bell having a cannon and a mouth,means for mounting the bell cannon to the base, an elongated resilientmember having a longitudinal hole through the center thereof, means forsupporting one end of said resilient member so that the longitudinalhole is disposed axially of said bell mouth, a relatively rigid staffmounted solely on the other end of the resilient member and extendinginto the bell mouth through the hole in the resilient member, and aclapper mounted on the staff within the bell mouth, whereby displacementof the resilient member end that is remote from the supporting means andsudden release of that end causes oscillatory movement of the clapper soas to repetitively ring the bell.

4. A musical toy comprising a sound chamber having two oppositelydisposed walls, at least one bell having a mouth and afiixed to one ofsaid walls interior of said chamber, the opposite wall being formed withan opening in spaced relation to said mouth, an elongated resilientmember having an opening longitudinally therethrough mounted at onelongitudinal end thereof in spaced relation to the wall opening so thatthe opening in said resilient member is in communication with said wallopening, said resilient member being mounted so that the non-mountedlongitudinal end thereof is disposed exterior of the chamber, a staffattached only to the non-mounted longitudinal end of the resilientmember and extending into the bell mouth through the opening in theresilient member and the interior of the sound chamber, and a clapperfixed to the staff within the bell mouth, whereby transversedisplacement and sudden release of the non-mounted end of the resilientmember causes the staff to oscillate and the clapper to strike theinterior of the bell.

5. A musical toy comprising a sound chamber having an upper wall and alower wall, a plurality of bells mounted on said lower wall interior ofsaid chamber, each said bell having a mouth and being disposed so thatthe mouth opens toward the upper wall, said upper wall being formed todefine an aperture opposite each bell, an elongated resilient memberassociated with each aperture, each said resilient member being formedwith an opening longitudinal thereof and being mounted at one endthereof adjacent each aperture so that the longitudinal openingcommunicates with the aperture, said resilient member being so disposedthat the non-mounted end is exterior of the chamber, a staff affixed tothe opposite end of each resilient member and extending through thelongitudinal opening thereof through the chamber into the bell mouth,and a clapper fixed to said staff within the bell mouth, wherebytransverse displacement and sudden release of the free end of aresilient member causes the clapper associated with the resilient memberrepetitively to strike the bell associated therewith.

6. A musical toy comprising a sound chamber having two oppositelydisposed walls, at least one bell having a mouth and atfixed to one ofsaid walls interior of said chamber, the opposite wall being formed withan opening in spaced relation to said mouth, an elongated resilientmember having an opening longitudinally therethrough mounted at onelongitudinal end thereof in spaced relation to the wall opening so thatthe opening in the resilient member is in communication with said wallopening, said resilient member being mounted so that the nonmountedlongitudinal end thereof is disposed exterior of the chamber, a staff atached to the non-mounted longitudinal end of the resilient member andextending into the bell mouth through the opening in the resilientmemher and the interior of the sound chamber, a resilient flat Washerafiixed to said staff at the point at which said statf extends throughthe chamber wall opening, the outer periphery of said Washer beingslightly smaller than the wall opening to permit movement of the statfrelatively to the opening and a clapper fixed to the stall within thebell mouth, whereby transverse displacement and sudden release of thenon-mounted end of the resilient member causes the clapper to strike theinterior of the bell at least once.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A MUSICAL TOY COMPRISING A BELL DEFINING A MOUTH, AN ELONGATEDRESILIENT MEMBER FORMED WITH AN OPENING LONGITUDINAL THEREOF, MEANS FORMOUNTING ONE END OF SAID RESILIENT MEMBER IN SPACED RELATION TO THE BELLMOUTH, SAID MOUNTING MEANS CONSTITUTING THE SOLE SUPPORT FOR SAIDRESILIENT MEMBER, A STAFF AFFIXED TO THE OPPOSITE END OF THE RESILIENTMEMBER AND EXTENDING THROUGH THE LONGITUDINAL OPENING IN SAID RESILIENTMEMBER INTO THE BELL MOUTH, SAID STAFF BEING SIZED WITH RESPECT TO THESIZE OF THE LONGITUDINAL OPENING IN SAID RESILIENT MEMBER TO AFFORDRELATIVE TRANSVERSE MOVEMENT THEREIN, AND A CLAPPER ATTACHED TO THESTAFF WITHIN THE BELL MOUTH, WHEREBY TRANSVERSE DISPLACEMENT AND RELEASEOF THE RESILIENT MEMBER IMPARTS OSCILLATORY MOTION TO THE CLAPPERCAUSING IT TO STRIKE THE BELL INTERIOR.